Gas-fired water heaters include a tank to contain water to be heated and an outer jacket or casing is spaced outwardly of the tank. Located within the space between the tank and the jacket is a layer of insulating material which can take the form of fiber glass or foamed resin.
In the conventional gas-fired water heater, the water is heated by a burner located in a compartment beneath the lower head of the tank. The lower end of the jacket is provided with an access opening in order to inspect and maintain the burner and pilot light or ignition device.
The access opening is customarily enclosed by a sheet metal panel or door, secured to the jacket by tabs that engage slots in the jacket. A corner of the panel is cut out to permit entry of the lines leading to the burner, pilot light and thermocouple.
It has been found that the access doors as used in the past are easily dislodged during shipping and handling of the water heater, with the result that the practice has been to wrap tape around the door to maintain it in place during shipment.
As a further disadvantage, the tabs on the conventional access door are easily bent during handling with the result that the tabs must be manually straightened before the door can be installed with the water heater jacket.
As the conventional access door is generally curved in shape, it is necessary to have a separate inventory of doors for water heaters of various diameters. meters.